Twenty years ago Monday, L.A. Lakers star Magic Johnson announced that he had contracted HIV and, as a result, retired from the NBA. (He'd briefly come back a few years later.) While HIV and AIDS had ripped through America in the 1980s, Magic's announcement put the virus into another stratosphere of awareness. Through Magic, any number of myths and misconceptions about HIV were corrected in the media and in dinner-table conversations.
Twenty Years After Magic Johnson’s HIV Announcement
But, as Kelly Dwyer eloquently writes, the most notable thing about Magic’s diagnosis 20 years later is that it’s hardly among the first things we consider when thinking about Magic.
Not only did Magic not let HIV best him -- he hasn’t let the virus define him. He’s spent so much time advocating for safe sex, and worked with charities left and right. But he’s also been an amazingly successful businessman after leaving the game, opening coffee shops and movie theaters, building housing developments and flipping his stake in the Lakers. He’s frequently mentioned as a principal in the move to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, he has a regular gig doing NBA analysis for ABC and ESPN, and remains a political mover. (He helped Barack Obama get elected by raising funds in California. He also gave old rival Kevin Johnson a boost in a Sacramento mayoral race.)
While Magic obviously has the means to receive the best treatment and to be as comfortable as possible, his story is one of not letting the virus define you. While his diagnosis served as an important lesson to the sports world and the watching American fans alike, his survival has served as an inspiration. We can all cheer that.
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